The Rams (1-6, 0-3 MW) return to Hughes Stadium for the first time in three weeks after a road game and a bye week, hosting Hawai‘i on Saturday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is set for 5:06 p.m., and the game will be televised on KTVD-20 in Colorado, and Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Saturday’s game is an “Orange Out,” as fans are encouraged to wear orange in celebration of CSU’s athletic heritage, which included the colors pumpkin orange and alfalfa green. Both the Rams and Warriors are coming off a “bye” week, and seeking their first Mountain West win under first-year head coaches. Hawai‘i’s lone win this season came against Lamar on Sept. 15 (54-2). CSU will honor former All-American Janay DeLoach as an honorary captain Saturday, in recognition of her bronze medal-winning performance in August at the London Olympic Games.

The Rams’ 20-game series with the Warriors began in 1925 and continued through the schools’ shared time in the Western Athletic Conference from 1979-98. The teams renew their long-standing rivalry with Hawai‘i’s entry this year into the Mountain West as a football-only member. CSU has won three in a row and six of the last seven in the series. The Warriors have lost four games in a row in Fort Collins since a 31-23 win on Sept. 10, 1988. Colorado State holds a 7-2 advantage over Hawai‘i in games played in Fort Collins.

TELEVISION: The game will be televised by Time Warner Cable SportsNet in HD, and can be seen in Colorado on KTVD-20, with Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play) and Darnell Arceneaux (analyst) calling the action and Lori Santi reporting from the sidelines.

RADIO: CSU fans can find the radio broadcast on the Colorado State Radio Network, originating from AM 560 KLZ in Denver, with Brian Roth (play-by-play), former Rams great David Anderson (analyst), Kevin McGlue (analyst) and Marty Cesario (sidelines) on the call. The radio broadcast can also be heard on KCOL 600 AM in Ft. Collins, KSIR 1010 AM in Ft. Morgan and KNZZ 1100 in Grand Junction.

NOTES IN 140 < #CSURamsNotes | #MWFB (A Twitter-friendly look at this week’s top notes from Colorado State Football)

#OFFENSE

>> The Rams’ offense is tied for 10th in the nation, & 2nd in #MWFB, in red zone scoring, at 91.7% (11-12) and 5th MW in passing (226.4)

>> Not since 1981 has a Rams team had 3 QBs attempt at least 22 passes in a season, as it has this year (Grayson, 129; McPeek, 76; Smith, 22)

Series streaks: Colorado State has won the last three contests dating back to 1995.

COACHES CAPSULES

CSU – Jim McElwain: 1-6, first season as head coachHawai’i – Norm Chow: 1-5, first season as head coachHead to Head: (first meeting)Against Opponent: (McElwain: first meeting, Chow: first meeting)

NORM CHOW AT A GLANCE

It took nearly 40 years before Norm Chow finally secured his first collegiate head coaching job, being named the University of Hawai‘i’s 22nd head football coach, Dec. 22, 2011.

The Punahou School alum and Palolo Valley native succeeded Greg McMackin, who retired after four seasons as head coach of the Warriors. Chow, 65, is the first Asian-American head coach of a major college football program.

Chow took over a program that had posted two losing seasons in the last three years. Prior to that, the Warriors made seven bowl appearances in 10 years and boasted three double-digit win seasons, including a 12-0 regular season in 2007.

In addition, for the first time in 13 years, the Warriors in 2012 have implemented a new offense, replacing the four-wide run-and-shoot with Chow’s pro-set that features fullbacks and tight ends.

Brenden Urban and Ben Clarke both are products of Chatfield High School in Littleton, the same school that produced CSU linebacker James Skelton. Clarke is a freshman offensive lineman, and Urban is a sophomore offensive lineman.

CSU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME

Colorado State University will welcome six new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies this Friday, October 26, on the eve of the Rams’ home game versus Hawai‘i.

The induction ceremony will take place in the Lory Student Center Main Ballroom. Admission is $50 for RAAA members and $55 for non-members. Registration is open now and tables accommodating 10 guests can also be purchased for $500. Those interested in attending are encouraged to contact CSU Events (970/491-4601) for more information.

The Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1988, and with the enshrinement of the Class of 2012, the elite fraternity will grow to include 146 members.

Harvey Achziger (Football)--Achziger was a three-year starter (1950-52) as a tackle on the offensive line. He twice earned first-team all-Mountain State Athletic Conference, and was named All-American in 1952.

Chris Adsit (Track & Field)--Adsit logged a seventh-place showing in the 440-yard hurdles at the 1972 USA National Championships and a fifth-place showing in 1973. The school record-holder in the 440 hurdles (50.5 seconds) and 120-yard hurdles, he twice won the Merill-Gheen Award, given annually to CSU’s top male scholar athlete.

Jill (Johnson) Bedard (Volleyball)--A four-year letterwinner (1987-1990), Bedard concluded her playing career as the Rams’ all-time leader in attacks (4,048) and digs (1,187), and ranked second in kills (1,773) and aces (130). She was a three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) all-region selection, and twice earned all-WAC and all-WAC honorable mention honors.

Jim Malley (Swimming & Diving)--Recipient of Colorado State’s first swimming scholarship, in 1967-68 Malley produced back-to-back second place finishes at the NCAA championships in the 200-meter backstroke. A six-time All-American, he set CSU records in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke as well as the 400-meter medley relay.

Kevin McDougal (Football)--Beginning his career as a safety he made 22 tackles in a game vs. Nebraska, fifth on CSU’s single-game list. He switched to running back and earned 1999 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors, and finished his career fourth on CSU’s rushing list (3,067) and tied for third in touchdowns (36). He was the 1999 MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

Damon Washington (Football)--A two-time Doak Walker Award nominee, Washington finished his career second on Colorado State’s all-time rushing list (3,616). His 14 career 100-yard games also ranks second in CSU’s record book and his 24 career rushing touchdowns are fifth in program history. Washington earned all-WAC honors in 1997.

POSTGAME NOTES: San Diego State 38, Colorado State 1410/13/12 - San Diego, Calif

• Redshirt-freshman QB Conner Smith replaced injured starter M.J. McPeek in the second quarter, taking the first snaps of his collegiate career.• Smith completed his first 11 passes, and finished the game 18-of-22 (.818) for 165 yards.• During the first drive of his collegiate career, Smith connected on seven consecutive passes to five different receivers. In total, Smith’s 18 completions went to 11 different receivers for the Rams.• Freshman running back Tommey Morris scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run with 9:47 to play in the fourth quarter.• Morris finished the game as the Rams’ second-leading rusher, behind Chris Nwoke (59 yards) picking up 37 yards on just seven carries, an impressive average of 5.3 yards per touch.• Morris’ touchdown capped a drive that was set up by a 73-yard kickoff return from sophomore wide receiver Thomas Coffman. That return was the longest by a Ram since Derek Good’s 74-yard return vs. UNLV on Oct. 16, 2010.• Senior QB M.J. McPeek directed Colorado State to a touchdown on its opening possession, just the second time this season the Rams have scored on their initial drive. The other occurrence came vs. North Dakota State on Sept. 8.• With his touchdown pass to tight end Kivon Cartwright, McPeek has thrown for a score in each of his three career games, and three games in a row.• Cartwright caught his second touchdown pass of the season in the first quarter to tie three others for the team lead (Charles Lovett, Crockett Gillmore and Dominique Vinson).• The Rams have scored a touchdown by pass in every game this season (Garrett Grayson in games 1-4, McPeek in games 5-7).• On that initial drive McPeek scrambled for first downs on back-to-back third-down situations, for the two longest runs of his career: 15 and 13 yards.• WR Charles Lovett (1-25) has now caught a pass in every game this season, and Marquise Law, with a career-high six receptions for a game-high 63 yards, caught a pass for the sixth game in a row.• S Connor Roggy, a sophomore from Greeley (Colo.) West High School, made his first career start, at free safety.• CSU’s game captains at San Diego State: Wide receiver Dominique Vinson, G Jordan Gragert, LB Aaron Davis, DL Curtis Wilson.• San Diego State won the toss and elected to receive.

2012 SEASON NOTES

KONTODIAKOS REACHING RARE STATUS: Senior punter Pete Kontodiakos has punted 194 times in his career, eighth-most among active punters in the NCAA. Remarkably, 55 of his 194 punts (28.4%) have gone for 50 or more yards. His career punting average of 43.4 ranks 12th in the nation among active players and fourth-best among the group with 190 or more career punts. That figure ranks No. 1 among Mountain West punters and No. 2 all-time at CSU.

TWO-TIGHT END ALIGNMENT: The Rams have started the first seven games of the season in a two-tight end set, with Crockett Gillmore and Kivon Cartwright. The last time a CSU team had begun a game with two tight ends prior to this year’s opener was the 2011 home-opener against Northern Colorado (Sept. 10; Crockett Gillmore and Blake Jones). Gillmore and Cartwright each surpassed 100 receiving yards for the season in just three games and 200 yards in seven games. The last time a Rams team had two tight ends with 200+ yards in a season was 2004 (Joel Dreessen, 427; Kory Sperry, 225).

TANYI’S TACKLES: Defensive end Lanston Tanyi, in his first year with the Rams after transferring from Appalachian State, ranks second among Mountain West defensive linemen with 47 tackles, second-most on the team. He is tied for 2nd in fumble recoveries (2). Tanyi has recorded at least 8 tackles in four of the seven games (12, 10 and 8 twice). His 12 stops vs. Fresno State on Oct. 6 were the most by a Rams defensive lineman since Guy Miller had 12 vs. Air Force in 2009 (Oct. 31). The only Rams defensive lineman with more since 2005 was Jake Pottorff (16) at Houston in 2007 (Sept. 22).

Game 1--at Colorado (9/1)Mountain West Player of the Week--LB Cory James (defense), K Jared Roberts (special teams)College Football Performance Awards, National LB of the Week--Cory JamesGame 2--vs. North Dakota State (9/8)College Football Performance Awards, Honorable Mention, National TE Performer of the Week--Crockett GillmoreGame 3--at San Jose State (9/15)College Football Performance Awards, Honorable Mention, National Punter Performer of the Week--Pete KontodiakosGame 5--at Air Force (9/29)College Football Performance Awards, Honorable Mention, National Punter Performer of the Week--Pete Kontodiakos

BACK TO OUR ROOTS: Colorado State debuted a new look this season with a return to a simpler uniform. The Rams also have added a pumpkin orange “A” on the back of their helmets as a nod to the team’s heritage as the Colorado A&M Aggies, symbolizing the school’s history as a Land Grant institution.

SIDELINE SWITCH: Head coach Jim McElwain introduced another new tradition with his choice to have the Rams inhabit the west sideline at Hughes Stadium for home games. The Rams had previously been stationed on the east sideline for their entire history at Hughes Stadium. In fact, it is believed that the last Colorado State team to use the west sideline for its home games was coached by Hughes Stadium namesake Harry Hughes, whose career spanned 1911-41.

• Newly appointed Athletic Director Jack Graham hired Jim McElwain on Dec. 13, 2011.• McElwain, who opened up the Bold New Era with a win over in-state rival Colorado, still hasn’t dropped a season-opener at the college level since 2004 as an assistant head coach at Michigan State.• McElwain knows the territory of being bowl eligible. He has been to a bowl games in nine of the past 11 years, including two national championships with Alabama (2009, 2011. He compiled a 47-6 record at Alabama.

CSU LEGEND MYERS TO ENTER COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: Former Jim Thorpe Award winner Greg Myers, a two-time All-American at Colorado State, was selected for enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame in late May. He was recognized for the honor at halftime of the homecoming game against Fresno State on Oct. 6. Myers became the third individual in the history of Colorado State’s football program to earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, joining consensus All-American Thurman “Fum” McGraw and former head coach Earle Bruce.

In Fort Collins Myers led the Rams to a pair of league championships (1994-95) and consecutive Holiday Bowl berths. During Myers’ junior season, CSU appeared in the national rankings for 13 weeks, including the highest ranking in program history, No. 10 over the last five polls of the regular season prior to a loss to Michigan. The Rams finished No. 14 in the final 1994 rankings.

Rams head coach Jim McElwain invited Myers to speak to the team on the first day of fall camp on Aug. 4, 2012. McElwain encouraged Myers to bring his Thorpe Award back to campus and gave it a permanent home in a trophy case so those in the program could continue to recognize and draw inspiration from the special accomplishment Myers achieved as a Ram.

A NOD TO THE PAST: New Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain has said often since his hire that he intends to “reach back into our history to help our future.” Specifically, he has invited former players and coaches back to campus to be close to the program, and impart some of their wisdom on his current team. In addition to former All-American and Thorpe Award winner Greg Myers and his former head coach Sonny Lubick, speaking to the team, McElwain was proud to announce in August the hire of former CSU standout defensive lineman Greg Pollard in the Rams’ student-athlete academic services department.

GRAHAM USHERS IN NEW LEADERSHIP AT COLORADO STATE: The 2012 season is the Rams’ first under the leadership of director of athletics John C. “Jack” Graham, hired Dec. 1, 2011. From that moment Graham has boldly placed Colorado State’s program on an ambitious path towards national prominence with his visionary leadership. A successful business leader and former Rams quarterback, Graham has energized the department under the motto, “Dream big, work hard and settle for nothing less than excellence.” Graham, a Rams quarterback from 1973-74, went to work quickly on his plans. His first major initiative was to conduct a thorough evaluation of all athletic programs and to engage with donors and supporters about their goals for CSU athletics. Graham has been bold in his pursuit of a plan to build an on-campus stadium at CSU, the feasibility of which is being considered at this time by Colorado State University President Tony Frank.